Google Announces Actions on Google Challenge

Recent Google I/O has shown how important the Google Assistant is for the company. Google is encouraging developers to publish their apps for Google Assistant by announcing a challenge. The winner can get $10,000 and a free entry to Google I/O 2018.

What exactly is this challenge about? In Google's words — Actions on Google is the platform that allows developers to build for the Google Assistant on Google Home, eligible Android phones, iPhones, and soon everywhere else where Assistant is available. For the challenge, Google wants developers to create an application for Google Assistant on Google Home that should also work on Android devices and iPhones. The contest ends on August 31.

Google highly recommends using the API.AI website to create the applications. Nevertheless, it's not a requirement. Entries are going to be judged by members of the Google Assistant team including engineers, product managers, and UX specialists. Google encourages developers to send initial versions of the apps early, as the team will give feedback and offer enough time to make last changes. Some applications might need multiple submissions before they are approved.

Those who want to take part can create the teams of a total of 3 members. Every team or developer can create and submit three apps to the contest. Google requires diversity, so each app must offer a different experience.

The winner will have a trip to Google's Headquarters in Mountain View, CA and tickets to Google I/O 2018. The prize includes the meeting with the Google Assistant team and 10,000 in cash. Second place gets $7,500 and a Google Home. Third place gets $5,000 and a Google Home as well.

Besides the main category, Google offers prizes up to $5,000 to the winners in the following subcategories.

• Best app by students
• Best easter egg
• Most fun distraction
• Best sound effects
• Best persona
• Crowd favorite
• Best voice only interaction
• Best parenting app
• Most adaptive app
• Best life hack
• Best API.AI app
• Best Converse.ai app
• Best DashBot powered app

If you want to win an exciting prize, visit the event's website for details. The contest ends on August 31, 2017, so you need to hurry.

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Source: Google via: Google+

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ElementalX Kernel for Moto Z And Moto G5 Plus!

Stock kernels simply do not provide the advanced features that we love. Smartphone vendors pack stable but bare solutions that give little room for customization and general improvement.

Luckily, XDA is a place where a lot of kernel developers share their work. One of them, XDA Recognized Developer flar2, has just published his ElementalX Kernel for the Moto Z and Moto G5 Plus. This kernel adds many interesting features including vibration control, Sweep2wake, Doubletap2wake, Sweep2sleep and more. You can also overclock and underclock your device with ease. Finally, the kernel does not modify the system partition, so the OTA updates should work flawlessly. Give it a try and say goodbye to your boring stock kernel!

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ElementalX for Moto G5 Plus ElementalX for Moto Z

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Someone is Reverse Engineering the Samsung Cover SDK Used in the Galaxy S8’s LED View Cover

A developer over on the /r/GalaxyS8 subreddit at Reddit recently purchased an LED View Cover for their Galaxy S8 and ended up being a bit underwhelmed by its features. The developer was wondering why Samsung wasn't adding in some other features and does mention that it could be updated in the future. Until then though, they started to reverse engineer the LED icon editor and LED Cover Service applications to learn more about the system.

While going through these applications, fonix232 says they were able to make a number of discoveries about how certain things work with this LED View Cover. To start off, they found out that the case can actually be updated with a firmware update, enabled by its low-power controller. Samsung is using this controller to handle all of the graphics so it should be possible for people to upload their own hacked firmware. However, they warn that messing this up could brick the LED View Cover.

They also found out the LED View Cover uses regular NFC, but isn't sure how they were able to figure out NFC tag cross-talk because the NFC reader is still usable. Since it uses NFC though, they believe the framework can be backported to AOSP and possibly implemented into LineageOS. Samsung is trying to keep this locked down so that you have to use the original application and so far it doesn't seem like the stock firmware will use any extended features.

Samsung is using a proprietary format for the images they are using with the LED View Cover as they are using a .spr extension. Some old video games used this file extension for sprites, but this is actually a proprietary Samsung format called SemPathRendering. This specific cover can also detect touches at the top and bottom, so it can do more than just display things. There's a second LED display on the bottom and they feel there are commands not in use that send data to the secondary display.

If you want to contribute and find out more, check the Reddit thread below!

Source: /r/GalaxyS8

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Turing Announces Distribution Partnership with Potevio in China for its $1,599 Smartphone

Turing Robotics Industries (TRI), the makers of the elusive (putting it lightly) Turing Phone, came back into the spotlight with their recent manufacturing agreement with TCL to produce the $1,599 Turing Phone Appassionato GX8. The company does appear to be working towards an actual product that consumers can buy, as it has now announced a distribution partnership with Potevio, a China state-owned telecommunications distribution company.

The partnership agreement with Potevio ensures the distribution of 750,000 Turing Phone Appassionato GX8 models throughout China via Potevio's 20,000+ retail stores, beginning this fall and aligning with the previously revealed September 2017 shipping timeline. The agreement also allows for the co-establishment of Turing Phone flagship retail stores in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

The press release from TRI also reveals a few specifications of the Turing Phone Appassionato, although the press release remains silent on whether these apply to the high-end GX8 model or to both, the GX8 as well as base PX8 variant. The Turing Phone Appassionato will feature a 5.5″ 2K AMOLED display from Samsung, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 SoC (and not the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC), 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The device will also sport the Sony IMX378 sensor for its camera, and Android 7.1.1 Nougat with TRI's 'mobile defense platform' for its OS. The phone will be made out of an amorphous alloy dubbed 'Liquidmorphium' which will provide a scratch resistant surface and a ceramic feel. Well, that's what Turing claims, and we have yet to see them deliver on such buzzwords.

TRI is also disclosing more details about Sir ALAN, its "human enhanced-concierge service and digital assistant". Sir ALAN is said to be able to help optimize trips, suggest activities based on social popularity and secure reservations, map traffic-oriented driving routes, report weather conditions, manage paperwork like expense reports and even provide advanced legal, HR assistance and business services. It remains to be seen how well Sir ALAN works (if at all) and how it competes against popular digital assistants like Google Assistant, Cortana and Siri.

What are your thoughts on the Turing Phone Appassionato? Will it hit the market? Who do you think would buy one? Let us know in the comments below!

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Auto-clicking Adware Called Judy Found in Dozens of Play Store Applications

Last week, a new type of adware was discovered to be on at least 41 different applications in the Google Play Store. This was discovered by the Check Point security research team, and the details were then passed along to Google. These infected applications and games have been removed from the Play Store, but their install counts were able to reach between 4.5 million and 18.5 million. The adware in question is now being referred to as Judy.

This piece of adware was able to bypass Google's Bouncer protection feature by creating what seemed like a benign bridgehead application. So once one of these malicious applications were downloaded, it proceeded to silently register receivers so that it could establish a connection with the C&C server. This server would then reply with a payload that was actually malicious (which includes JavaScript code), a user-agent string and then some URLs which were controlled by the owner of the server.

The malware would then proceed to open up the URLs with the user-agent string so it can imitate a PC browser that is all hidden to the user. That would then redirect them to another website and then it starts to use that JavaScript code to locate and then click on ads provided by Google's own advertising platform. So the whole point was to infect as many smartphones and tablets as possible so they could rake in some money by making you click on ads without your consent.

Judy wasn't some adware that was being used by a lot of people either. All of the malicious applications that were detected in the Play Store were all published by a Korean company named Kiniwini. This account was registered as a developer on Google Play by a company called ENISTUDIO corp, which actually develops applications for both Android and iOS.

Source: Check Point

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Samsung Releases SoundAssistant App for Galaxy Devices on Android 7.0

Samsung has launched a new app called SoundAssistant on the Play Store that allows for users to customize several audio settings on their device. This app is restricted to Samsung Galaxy devices, and specifically, to Galaxy devices that are on Android 7.0 and beyond.

SoundAssistant allows for 150 steps of volume adjustment, a floating equalizer function as well as mono and stereo balancing. SoundAssistant also lets users set separate volumes for individual apps, which can be really handy if a game has low audio volume by default. You can also change the volume key behaviour using the app, defaulting to media volume instead of ringtone. This feature forms a staple part of several custom ROMs, so it is good to see Samsung embracing the same for some of its devices.

SoundAssistant also lets Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ users set different output path for each app, like playing music through a Bluetooth speaker and letting game music through the device speaker.

SoundAssistant is available only to Galaxy devices running Android 7.0 Nougat or higher, and since it is an official Samsung app, it works without the need for root functionality. It remains to be seen if Samsung will open up the app to other non-Galaxy devices and Galaxy devices not on Android 7.0.

Have you tried out SoundAssistant? Do you find the app useful? Do you use other alternatives to solve your issues with device audio? Let us know in the comments below!

Check out SoundAssistant on the Google Play Store Story Via: Android Authority

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Here’s how to get Google Assistant on Android 5.0+ Tablets WITHOUT Root

Google Assistant is Google's answer to Amazon's Alexa – a smart, personal service that has evolved in numerous ways and has expanded to multiple new platforms since its initial unveiling during last year's Google I/O. Although initially exclusive to the Google Pixel and Pixel XL phones (and available in a more limited manner in the Google Allo app), the awesome users on our forums were able to get Assistant running on any rooted Nougat phone. Back in March, Google announced that they would make Assistant available for all smartphones running Android 6.0+ in certain countries. A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one.

Google Assistant on Android Smartphones

Since then, even desktop and laptop PCs can take advantage of Assistant thanks to the release of an official SDK. Those among us who own an Android Wear 2.0 compatible smartwatch, certain Android TV models, and some vehicles with Android Auto can also take advantage of Assistant. But there's one device that is notably missing from this growing list of Google-blessed devices – tablets. A Google spokesperson confirmed that the wider Assistant roll out back in March would not include Android tablets running 6.0+.

That's never stopped us at XDA from trying to figure out ways around (in our eyes) these arbitrary restrictions. Thanks to XDA Member Nikhilkumar038, we now have a way to use Google Assistant on any Android tablet running Lollipop, Marshmallow, or Nougat without needing root!

I've tested this on two separate devices – a Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2 running Android 5.1.1 Lollipop and a Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 running Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. This should theoretically work on smartphones running Android Lollipop as well.

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Google Assistant for Tablets Tutorial

The way this method works is by launching a hidden (but thankfully accessible) activity within the Google App called com.google.android.apps.gsa.staticplugins.opa.hq.OpaHqActivity. This can easily be done by using an application that can list and then launch all available activities from your installed apps. Activity Launcher is one app that is dedicated to this purpose, though the well-known Nova Launcher has a built-in function to launch activities in case you already have this launcher installed. Update your Google App to the latest stable version if you haven't already.

Method 1 – Using Activity Launcher

1. Open Activity Launcher
2. Tap on the "Recent activities" tab up top and select "All activities." Wait for all activities to load.
3. Scroll down until you find the Google App. Tap on it to expand all available activities under the Google App.
4. Find com.google.android.apps.gsa.staticplugins.opa.hq.OpaHqActivity. You can either tap on it once or create a shortcut to it on your launcher.
5. You'll now find yourself within the new Assistant "explore" screen where Google categorizes available integrations, how to use them, and quick access to make custom shortcuts.
6. Swipe over to the "Your Stuff" tab up top.
7. Tap on "Add Reminder" to trigger Google Assistant. What this action does is launch the activity com.google.android.apps.gsa.staticplugins.opa.OpaActivity – which normally can't be accessed on your unrooted device.
8. You'll now be taken through the hotword setup process. Teach it to recognize your voice, and you're done! Now you can access Google Assistant by saying "OK Google!"

Method 2 – Using Nova Launcher

1. Find an empty spot on your home screen and long-press to add something new.
2. Tap on "Widgets."
3. Under "Nova Launcher" tap and hold "Activities" and drag it to your home screen.
4. Scroll down and find the "Google App."
5. Tap on it to expand it, and select com.google.android.apps.gsa.staticplugins.opa.hq.OpaHqActivity.
6. This will add a new "Google Assistant" icon to your home screen which is a shortcut to this activity. Tap on this icon.
7. You'll now find yourself within the new Assistant "explore" screen where Google categorizes available integrations, how to use them, and quick access to make custom shortcuts.
8. Swipe over to the "Your Stuff" tab up top.
9. Tap on "Add Reminder" to trigger Google Assistant. What this action does is launch the activity com.google.android.apps.gsa.staticplugins.opa.OpaActivity – which normally can't be accessed on your unrooted device.
10. You'll now be taken through the hotword setup process. Teach it to recognize your voice, and you're done! Now you can access Google Assistant by saying "OK Google!"

Caveats

The first, and most obvious caveat, is that you can't access OK Google by long-pressing on the home button. Long-pressing the home button will instead launch Google Now on Tap. I know many of you would actually prefer having Now on Tap as well as Assistant available, though, so I can't knock too many points off for that. Though, this does mean that you'll have to live with using your voice to access Assistant, which I would imagine isn't too much of a problem considering where most people keep and use their tablets (at home). If you want, you can keep the home screen shortcut we made in this tutorial and tap on "add a reminder" anytime to manually bring up Assistant, but it's less convenient this way.

Next, there's the unfortunate reality that Google may patch this method in a future update of the Google App. This wouldn't be the first time that a company has removed unofficial functionality after we publicized it, so I would recommend getting this set up while you can. Fortunately, you can just refuse to update the Google App if you really wanted to, which is far more realistic than never updating your Samsung Galaxy S8 if you were planning on using the original Bixby remap method.

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Stay tuned to the XDA Portal for more tutorials like this! Thanks again to XDA Member Nikhilkumar038 for publishing this method on our forums!

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